Stopping A Rat-Hole: The Charleston Harbor Stone Fleets, 1861 & 1862.

Summary

In late 1861 and early 1862 Union naval blockading forces sank a total of twenty-nine whaling and merchant vessels laden with stones at the entrances to the two main channels at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.  The navy intended for these underwater obstructions to prevent the passage of Confederate blockade runners from entering and exiting the port city.  The two stone fleets did not result in the desired effect wished for by Union strategists, but the historical and archaeological record suggests they altered subsequent naval movement on the coastal battlefield.  This paper will present a historical sketch of the purchasing, outfitting, and sinking of the two stone fleets and the archaeological consequences of these obstructions on the Charleston Harbor Naval Battlefield.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Papers in Naval Archaeology: Privateers; Civil War Harbor Defenses, Ships and Men; and the Rise of Submarines in the Last Century   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 129